U.S. Pat. No. 674,446 to Marx is called a “Spoon.” U.S. Pat. No. DES 259,533 to Frodsham is called a “Spoon straw.” These references illustrate a spoon/straw combination having a fluid intake orifice of a straw interposed within a bowl of the spoon section. A disadvantage of such a design is the inability to separate spooning and aspirating functions. Thus, fluid may enter the straw section while spooning, and inadvertently pass through the straw, exiting the aspiration port of the straw, resulting in spillage of the fluid. Furthermore, neither the Marx nor Frodsham structures permit aspiration of fluid unless the fluid is capable of being scooped into the bowl of the spoon section.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,606,039 called a “Combined Straw and Spoon Construction” and U.S. Pat. No. 1,666,106 called a “Spoon,” both to Norman are spoons with a holder mechanism for a straw. The Norman '039 and '106 references suffer from the disadvantage that a straw with a length longer than the length of the spoon is necessary for use of this feature. Also, as the holding mechanism of each reference is a clip mechanism, the straw is not firmly secured by the device.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,727,321 to Lewis is called a “Utensil with Both Spoon and Straw Functions.” The Lewis '321 reference is a straw with a concave attachment serving as a spoon on the upper side, and a tubular extension terminating downwards on the inferior side of the concavity as the straw extension. The Lewis '321 reference suffers from the disadvantage that although the spoon is broad, it is not deep. It cannot hold an amount similar to a regular spoon, yet the spoon is wide and prevents the straw from reaching the base of narrow containers. Also, as the spoon extension is detachable, the user risks the spoon slipping off, and burying itself into the food stuff.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,946,807 to Crane, et. al. is called a “Novelty Spoon.” The Crane '807 reference is a two-piece straw with a spoon integrally attached above the intake orifice of the straw. A decorative novelty lies on the top of the upper portion of the straw. The intake orifice end of the straw lies flush with the curvature of the underside of the spoon. A disadvantage of such a design is the inability to separate spooning and aspirating functions. Thus, fluid will enter the straw section while spooning, and may pass through the straw, exiting the aspiration port of the straw, resulting in spillage of the fluid.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,463,662 to Coscia, et al. is called a “Spoon and Straw Combination Device.” The Coscia '662 reference is a one-piece straw and spoon with the intake orifice of the straw facing upwards from a reservoir under the concavity of the spoon. The '662 reference suffers from the disadvantage that the fixed angle of the spoon and straw, in combination with the superior angle of the straw intake orifice and width of the spoon body prevent the straw from withdrawing fluids from the container bottom. This disadvantage occurs because the user cannot place the intake point of the straw against the bottom of container except to point the handle completely sideways, at which point the intake orifice is still at some angle upwards more than 90 degrees from the bottom of the container, and draws in air.
U.S. Pat. No. DES 290,328 to Imotani is called a “Straw with a bowl-like head.” The '328 Imotani reference illustrates a spoon cavity attached to a straw member by means of two extension arms from the spoon cavity section. The straw intake orifice is situated above and proximate to the spoon cavity with no barrier to prevent fluid communication between the two operable sections. The device disclosed in the Imotani '328 reference provides fluid communication between a bowl of the spoon section and an intake orifice of the straw section. Thus, there is no separation of the spooning and aspirating functions. The device disclosed in the '328 Imotani reference has a further disadvantage that the straw intake orifice is necessarily elevated above the bottom of a comestible containing vessel by the height of the spoon cavity section. This prevents the straw intake orifice from effectively communicating with the bottom of the vessel, inhibiting the user of the device from drawing fluid from the bottom portion of the vessel.
U.S. Pat. No. DES 316,503 to O'Grady is called a “Combined Spoon and Straw Holder.” The O'Grady '503 reference is a spoon with semi-circular clips on the handle for holding a separate straw. The concavity of the spoon faces upwards to the handle at an oblique angle, similar to a ladle. The O'Grady '503 reference suffers from the disadvantage that the straw may only extend only into the concavity of the spoon, and because of the spoon's width and height, the spoon is unable to withdraw fluids from the bottom of most containers.
U.S. Pat. No. DES 330,481 to Green is a called a “Spoon Straw.” The Green '481 reference is a one-piece hollow handle spoon with the intake orifice end of the straw running under spoon, and the intake orifice of the straw facing the same angle as the superior face of the distal end of the spoon. The Green '481 reference suffers from two disadvantages. First, the intake orifice of the straw cannot face downward flat against any usual beverage or dessert container. (It may work in that configuration if held with the spoon facing downwards into a broad and long container, such as a ‘boat’ tray.) Next, the ‘straw’ is only as long as the handle, thus requiring the user to place the users mouth very close to the container, which is difficult to do with flexible ice cream boats and yet not place the user's face into the boat.
U.S. Pat. No. DES 370,587 to Lynch is called a “Spoon-Straw.” The Lynch '587 reference is a hollow spoon with the handle serving as a straw to the user's mouth. The spoon is a dual shell body with four triangular holes in the outer shell. These holes serve as the mouth of the straw. The Lynch '587 reference suffers from a number of disadvantages. First, fluid may enter the straw section while spooning, and inadvertently pass through the straw, exiting the aspiration port of the straw, resulting in spillage of the fluid. Second, as the four holes are located circumferentially about the face of the spoon, the entrance holes cannot all simultaneously be at the bottom of the beverage container, so suction is lost when the fluid level reaches the higher of holes. Additionally, the width of the spoon prevents the straw from withdrawing fluids near the bottom of containers narrower than the width of the spoon.
U.S. Pat. No. DES 440,810 to Olson is called a “Combined Drink Straw with Integral Spoon.” The Olsen '810 reference is a single piece of straight tubing terminating in a shovel-like spoon, The Olsen '810 reference is similar to the popular “Slurpee”® straw. The Olsen '810 reference suffers from several disadvantages: (1) if the straw is made of inflexible material, the straw opening cannot reach the bottom of containers narrower than the spoon; (2) if the straw is made of flexible material, the spoon cannot scoop firm semi-solid foods; and (3) if the straw is made of flexible material, the spoon cannot support the weight of semi-solid foods of other than much less than bite-size amounts.
U.S. Pat. No. DES 458,809 to Richardson, et al., is called a “Combination Spoon and Straw.” The Richardson '809 reference is a spoon with a straw integrally formed under the handle. The intake orifice end of the straw follows the contour of the underside of the spoon and terminates in an oblique entry point. The aspiration end of the straw incorporates a flexible accordion-fold terminal end to allow both extending and bending of the straw. The Richardson '809 reference suffers from the disadvantages that (1) the width of the spoon prevents the intake orifice from reaching containers narrower than the width of the spoon; (2) the straw diameter is fixed at one-size, and the invention does not permit the use of other commercially available straws with the invention; and (3) the invention is limited to a single use because its length and the accordion-fold are difficult to clean.